The federal government has restated its commitment to strengthening access to essential controlled medicines for patients with legitimate medical needs, alongside pursuing a balanced, evidence based approach to drug control that weaves together public health, security, prevention and treatment.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate, in an address delivered on his behalf by Director of Food and Drug Services Olufowobi Yusuf Adeola at the maiden National Drug Use Summit in Abuja, called drug use in Nigeria a complex public health and development issue. Citing a 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime survey, Pate said 14.4 percent of Nigerians aged 15 to 64 had used drugs, with cannabis remaining the most common substance alongside growing misuse of prescription opioids such as tramadol and codeine and the emergence of new psychoactive substances, a burden he said carries significant implications for public health, national security and socio economic development that demand strategies going beyond law enforcement alone.
Even as efforts to curb illicit drug use continue, Pate said, government has an equal responsibility to ensure patients suffering severe pain from cancer, surgery, sickle cell disease and other conditions retain access to controlled medicines such as morphine and pethidine, arguing that denying appropriate pain relief over concerns about drug diversion is unacceptable, and pledging continued pursuit of policies that balance effective drug control with access to essential medicine. He said security agencies will continue leading supply reduction efforts while his ministry leads demand reduction through prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, treating addiction as a medical condition requiring evidence based care rather than stigma or punishment alone, with plans to scale up screening, brief intervention and referral services for substance use disorders across primary healthcare centres and general hospitals, expand accredited treatment and rehabilitation centres, and train more health workers in medically assisted treatment.
Pate said government will also tighten accountability across the pharmaceutical supply chain by securing warehouses holding narcotic medicines, deploying inventory management systems and strengthening joint inspections with regulatory and enforcement agencies to track controlled medicines from procurement through to patient use, while deepening collaboration with the education, youth and women affairs ministries to promote evidence based drug prevention programmes in schools and communities and reduce the stigma that keeps people with substance use disorders from seeking treatment. National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Chairman Muhammad Buba Marwa called the summit timely and necessary, saying it aligns with the global call to confront persistent drug challenges through innovative, collaborative responses and offers a chance to build consensus around a coordinated national action plan. Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom, represented by Narcotics Division Director Henrietta Bakura Onyeneke, said the ministry is committed to a health system where no Nigerian suffers needless pain for lack of access, and no Nigerian loses their future to drug misuse.
